Etherchannel Layer 2 LACP Configuration

In this How To we will cover how to configure LACP for a Layer 2 Etherchannel on Cisco Catalyst switches.

EVE-NG Network diagram

• We will need to first bundle our interfaces into a port-channel

Configuration

• First, we must go into global configuration mode and place our interfaces into a "Channel-group"

SW1#configure terminal # This command puts us in Global Config mode

SW1(config)#interface range eth0/0 - 1 # This command will put you into the interface sub-configuration mode for multiple interfaces

SW1(config-if-range)#channel-group 44 mode active # This command will bundle the member interfaces into a port-channel using LACP negotiation to negotiate with the other side actively.

SW1(config)#interface port-channel 44 # This command will put us into the port-channel sub-configuration mode

All configurations should now be configured under the port-channel. The port-channel will then push the configuration down to the member interfaces.

SW1(config-if)switchport trunk encapsulation dot1q # This command will set the trunk to use the IEEE 802.1q Encapsulation standard

SW1(config-if)#switchport mode trunk # This command will statically set the interface to trunking mode.

• The complete configuration for both switches is shown below

SW1 LACP configuration

SW2 LACP configuration

Verification

• The following show commands will verify if the etherchannel is working properly.

SW1#show etherchannel summary # This command will show us if our Etherchannel is bundled and active.